Shelf-adapter



J. ZIMMERMAN.

SHELF ADAPTER.

APPLHCATION FILED FEB. 17. 1921.

1,394,133. Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

' Munro/r monwer JOHN ZIMMERMAN, 0F JAMAICA, NEW YORK.

SHELF-ADAPTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Application filed February 17, 1921. Serial No. 445,744.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ZIMMERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at J amaica, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shelf-Adapters, of which the following is a. specification.

This invention relates to shelving or other analogous storage receptacles, and has particular reference to means of a simple, relatively cheap, and yet effective reliable means for adapting shelves of larger capacity to accommodate articles of a smaller size and V which ordinarily without the adapter are liable to be arranged or left in a disorderly condition or position in the shelves.

More specifically stated, my invention has among its objects to adapt a shelf of given dimensions for the reception and struction, whereby holding in neat regular order articles of a known smaller size and which otherwise would notordinarily be kept in neat position, or in such conditi n as to make it easy for one of such articles to beselected from among .a number of them in the same shelf.

A further and more definite object is to provide a device of any suitable material, such as cheap straw board or analogous conthe edges thereof may be readily trimmed .as set forth more fully below, to adapt the size of a shelf such as that of a phonograph cabinet, to substantially fit the record disks and their envelops, and hence the several records may thus be kept in shelves adapted in size to correspond to the size of the records and their envelops.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the inven tion is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still forthepurpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereofreference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, andin which I Figure l is; a diagrammatic rspective shelves and indicating the advantages of the adapter. I

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the adapter detached and in operative position.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the adapter fiat.

Fig. 4: is a perspective view of the adapter folded.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings I show at C a cabinet having any suitable number of shelves S. In the best modern practice or equipment of disk record cabinets, especially when the records are kept in individual envelops, the envelops are provided with tabs serving to carry labels or other means to identify the name of the selection or composer or both, and for convenience in discovering any desired record in .a group thereof in a ca inet it is important that the records be kept in regular order so that the tabs or labels will all be presented equally to view or manipulation.

t is well known also that music in a music cabinet, whether sheet music or phonograph records, has an almost hopeless heterogeneous condition, due to a previous rummaging hunt through the mass for one or more selections, making it thereafter needlessly diflicult to find a subsequent selection because of the disorder. Moreover, for the sake of neatness it is highly desirable that the music sheets or records be kept well arranged.

In View of the foregoing it will be readily appreciated that for music'sheets or records to be kept in neat and regular order without special eflort on the part of the player the size of the shelf should be adapted to the size of the record or sheet so that when the rec 0rd or sheet is put intothe shelf it will automatically lie in a predetermined position .or place. Assuming, therefore, that the shelves S as made in the cabinet have a capacity suited to hold 12 inch records in square envelops, such as are usually employed for the records, it follows that when the records thus inclosed in envelops are slipped into the shelves they will be forced to occupy a predetermined position one upon another and with their edges straight with .respect.to the cabinet and parallel to one.

another. If then these envelops have projecting tabs bearing initials or other identifying means the operator has little difficulty in locating any record whose identity is known.

Considering now the adaptation of the size of the shelves S to smaller records and their envelops, say 10 inch size, it is obvious that the front edges of the envelope should be disposed adjacent to the front edge of the shelf. Hence, it is requisite that means be provided at the back thereof to prevent them from being placed or moved farther back, and also that means be provided to cooperate with their side edges to keep them perfectly straight and directly one above the other It will be noted, however, that even though the records may not be placed directly one above the other with respect to their side edges it is nevertheless easy to locate a record if means is provided to abut against their rear edges serving to hold them in regist at their front edges with the front edge of the shelf. It is not necessary, therefore, in all cases to restrict the width of the shelf .at the same time the depth of the shelf is restricted to the size of an object smaller than the shelf.

In carrying out this invention in a preferred embodiment and one which I have developed in a practical manner, I employ a sheet of material such as straw board or the like and fashion it as indicated inFig. 3 so as to comprise a main central portion 13 and two'end wings or portions 14c. The end wings are attached to the central part along two bending lines 15 whereby the wings are adapted to fold over fiat upon the central portion as shown in Fig. 4: or to be extended therefromin use as in Fig. 2.

The central portion 13 of the device comprises three panels 16 and 17, there being two panels 17 connected along bending lines 18 to opposite or upper and lower edges of the panel 16. From the flat form of the device, the panels 17 fold rearward'parallel to each other around the bending lines 18 and lie in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the shelf space S, thus holding the panel 16 vertical. The resiliency of the material at the bending lines 18 tends to cause the panels 17' to hug permanently against the adjacent surfaces of the shelf;

The wings 14 likewise each comprise preferably three panels16 and 17 corresponding to the similarly numbered parts of the central portion 13. ,When folded partially around the'bending line 15 and with the panels 17 bent at right angles to the panel 16', around the bending lines 18', the panels 17 hug against the upper and lower surfaces of the shelfspace and serve thereby to hold not only the panel 16' vertical but from movement laterally. In other words, the re siliency always to straighten and'flatten the entire Assuming that the same adapter is of the material is such as to tend structure, but the straightening is resisted by the sides of the shelf space and the fiattening is resisted by the upper and lower surfaces of said space. Thus I provide a clear shelf space between the side panels 16" and in front of the rear panel 16 corresponding to the size of the articles to be contained in such shelf. V

F or the best practice. my adapter is cut or stamped, with the bending line portions creased with proper recognition of the size of the music sheet or disk, taking into consideration the size of the shelf .spaceto be adapted thereto. If, however, the width and depth of the" shelf space are uncertain, with respect to the articles to be housed therein the capacity of the adapted shelf space may be. determined nevertheless according to the size of the articles to be housed therein, by simply trimming off certain portions of the panels 17 and '17 as indicatedfor example along the dotted lines 19. More definitely assuming that a shelf 14 inches square and of a height equal to the height of the panel 16 is to be adapted for 12 inch'recordsthe lengthof the panel 16 would be 12 inches between bending lines 15. The width of the panels 17 from the bending lines 18 would be 2 inches'so as to establish the panel 16 exactly 12' inches back of thefront edge of the shelf. The width of the panels 17 would be 1 inch. The, matter of length of the panels 16 and 17 is of minor importance. intended to beused for either 10 inch or 12 inch records or records even smaller than 10 inches the width of the panels17 and17 will be so predetermined as to establishfthe smallest space intended and then by breaking or clipping 0E portions thereof along predetermined lines such as 19, it is obvious that larger records than the minimum may easily be accommodated, and so the size of the shelf is adapted to the size of the articles to be contained therein and yet always maintain the front edges of the articles flush with the front edgeof the shelf. I

c For Shipment or'packingin large quantities the adapters may bekept in flat form as in Fig. 3"but for transportion or'packing of a smaller quantity they may be folded flat as inFig. 4. The device is not only sim'pl'e and neat 'in appearance, serving to hold the shelf goods'in neat conditiombut moreover is of a yerysubstanti'aI nature due as the shelf is intended forusewith' articles sizedcaccording to the, adapter.

Iclaimz, 1 1. Ashelf adapter comprising a plurality of panels arranged at right angles to one another and of a height substantially equal to the vertical height of the shelf space, and means cooperating With the otherwise free edges of said panels to hold them at a predetermined distance from the side Walls of the shelf space.

2. A shelf adapter comprising a vertical rear panel, means to hold said rear panel parallel to and at a predetermined distance from the rear Wall of a shelf space, a pair 10 of parallel side panels attached at their rear ends to the ends of the first mentioned panel, and means connected to the otherwise free edges of the side panels to hold the side panels at predetermined distances from the 15 side Walls of the shelf space.

In testlmony whereof I afliX my signature.

JOHN ZIMMERMAN. 

